Welcome To Vegas
by Hisgrl
Summary: Sara is training a rookie when a blast from the past is brought back to the team. Can they work past their baggage and find happiness in each other? Slow burn CARA, OC romance in background.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first CSI fic. I am planning for this to be a slow burn Cath/Sara fic. I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Sara** **POV**

I had just taken my first sip of coffee when D.B. entered the break room. "SARA!" He bellowed, making the hot, bitter liquid catch in my throat.

"Yes." I choked out. He turned to me with an expression close to apologetic coloring his features.

"Oh, sorry, were you drinking something?" He asked. If it had been anyone else I probably would have been pissed, but he looked so flustered that I let it slide. Instead I waved off his apology.

"What did you need, oh loud one?" I asked, not being able to stop myself from messing with him. I saw the desired effect as a smile spread across his face.

"We have a new girl coming in tonight." He told me. "She'll be shadowing you this shift." Wait, what? New girl? And, me? There was bound to me someone else more able, more friendly. Why not Greg? Or Morgan? They're nice!

"Look," he started, his voice growing serious for a moment, "I know that the last couple of times a rookie joined the team it didn't end well-"

"Try disastrous." I said.

"Okay, but at least give her a chance. You were a rookie once too." How could I argue with that? He went all "dad" on me. His eyes moved from me to something behind me. "Here she is now."

A young girl entered the break room. She was small in stature with short, brown curls falling around her shoulders. Her blue eyes found D.B. and her face seemed to relax. The older man stood and offered his hand to her.

"Shepherd?" He asked.

"Russell?" She asked in return, her hand grasping his with a firm shake.

"Please, call me D.B."

"Peyton." She said. He smiled at her before directing her attention to where I sat.

"This is CSI Sara Sidle. You'll be following her tonight." The girl, Peyton, looked to me and nodded. "Now that you two have met, allow me to gift you with this." He said, handing me a slip of paper before taking his exit.

"Is he always that-"

"Weird?" I finished with a smile.

"I was going to say odd, but yes that works." It was then that I noticed that she had an accent, southern.

"You ready to start your shift?" I asked, she nodded. "Good, we've got a 419 in Henderson."

The ride was short but productive. I learned that she was from south Georgie, some city called Valdosta…never heard of it. According to her, it was practically in Florida. When I asked her why she decided to move to Vegas she merely answered that she had nothing left for here in Georgia…which was vague. She knew I was grilling her and she was pretty damn good at deflection and non-answers.

Once at the scene we were met with a distraught couple being questioned by a young male officer. I had a bad feeling, upset couple usually meant one thing. Not the best case to work your first shift. I looked to my right and saw Peyton looking around the neighborhood.

"You alright?" I asked, drawing her attention to me.

"I live around here." She answered. Well, damn.

Upon entering the house we ascended the stairs and saw Brass outside what looked to be a child's bedroom.

"I hope you're ready for this." He said, stepping aside and allowing us to enter the room. Just as I suspected, there was a young girl, probably around 10, laying on the bed, her limbs posed as if she were asleep. I turned to see my colleague swallow thickly and shake her head slightly, the scene affecting her seemingly more than me. That being said, cases like this always left a sour taste in my mouth.

"Hey." I said, but she didn't reply. I reached out and gently took her elbow, causing her to jump. "I can process the room and body if you want to take the perimeter." It was then that I noticed how stiff her body had gotten. At my suggestion, however, she seemed to relax.

To the right of the body sat David Phillips, assistant ME. He was just checking the liver temperature when he spotted me.

"Hey, Sar." He said sadly.

"Hey, Super-Dave, what do you have?" I asked as I snapped a few shots of the body and its surroundings.

"According to liver temp she's been dead for about an hour and a half." Jesus! At the same time I was getting ready for work, this little girl was being killed. How could-nope! Need to focus.

"And, Sara," Dave said, "There are signs of sexual assault."

Fuck.

Brass told me that the girl's name was Tina Mitchel. She was supposed to spend the night with a friend, who lived down the road, after a soccer game that night. The friend gave a statement saying that the victim received a text and left saying that she had to go home for something and never came back. The girl's parents came to check on her found her dead.

It took a few hours, but we were finally packing up our kits to head back to the lab. We hit a rough patch when Tina's parents showed up, but Brass was able to calm them down enough to ask them a few questions.

As I expected, I found fluids on the bed sheets. Hopefully this asshole left some DNA for us. Peyton said she found no signs of forced entry, she knew her killer…trusted him. That just makes it so much worse.

I closed the back of the Tahoe and noticed Peyton leaning heavily on the passenger side door. I walked over, making sure she heard me as I did, and rested my hand on her shoulder. I felt her body relax again before her shoulders straightened and she looked up at me.

"Welcome to Las Vegas."

 **Sorry for any errors, feedback is always loved!**


	2. New Develpments

**I hope you all like this chapter. Catherine will be entering the story next chapter, promise. Also, I do not, nor have I ever been to or lived in Vegas. The school is made up. Also, sorry for any typos or errors. Enjoy!**

Cold air hit us immediately as Peyton followed me into the morgue. Next to the body we found Doctor Albert Robbins watching us expectantly, Peyton in particular.

"Doc, I'm sure you've heard about our new recruit." I said, gesturing to the younger woman. Peyton stepped forward and waved slightly.

"Peyton Shepherd." She introduced.

"Albert Robbins." He told her.

"So, what's up, Doc?" Sara asked, Robbins rolling his eyes in return.

"Yes, I never tire of hearing that." He responded, causing Sara to smirk.

"Tina Mitchel, 10 years old." Robbins started. "It's a shame. She was healthy in all accounts as far as I can tell, very athletic."

"She played soccer." I heard Peyton say softly from beside me. I turned to inquire if she was okay, but she dismissed me with a wave of her hand.

"Cause of death is asphyxiation from manual strangulation." Robbins told us. I felt my stomach drop.

"Bastard." I uttered under my breath.

"David was right, there is evidence of sexual assault." Doc continued. "I swabbed what I assumed to be lubricant from inside the victim. Have a look at her right hand." Peyton reached and took the small hand, almost cradling it in her own. She took hold of the index and middle fingers. There was a clear, wet substance on them.

"More lubricant?" I asked, trying to hide the disgust in my voice.

"I suspect so. I sent a sample of each to trace to be sure." Robbins told us. Ugh! What kind of perverted excuse for a human being could do this to a child? I looked to my right and saw that my colleague was thinking the exact same thing.

As soon as the door to the morgue shut behind us my phone rang. "Sidle."

"Sara, I just finished talking to the parents." Brass told me. "The victim went to James Madison elementary. I put a call in to the school so we can talk to some of the kids, but I haven't heard back yet."

"Okay."

"She also attended this after school program at a rec center down the street from the school. While I wait for the school, why don't you and the rookie go check it out."

When I told Peyton about the new developments I saw her movements still for a split second before resuming again.

"You going to be okay?" I asked.

"Yea, just a tough first shift." She told me. Before I realized what I was doing, my hand came up and rubbed her shoulder.

"Yea, cases with kids never get any easier." I replied.

We both shook off our personal feelings about the case and made our way out of the building. The worst part of working graveyard is the time we have to waste for places to open for business. The rec center didn't open until 8 which gave us a good couple of hours to kill before we could go check it out.

After we processed both of the parents we decided that we should get some food, preferably some that didn't come from a vending machine.

"So, why Vegas?" I asked as we sat down at a booth in a nearby diner.

"You are like a dog with a bone!" She laughed at me.

"Hey!" I played back, my hands coming up in a surrendering manner. "I'm not asking _why_ you moved, but there are a ton of other cities closer to Georgia, so why here?"

"I guess you have me there." She said. "I actually lived here until I was ten. We moved to Valdosta after my mom died. My grandmother wanted something more…calm I guess."

"Oh, I 'm sorry." I said to her, she smiled.

"Don't be, as far as I know you had nothing to do with it." At my curious look she decided to clarify. "She worked at this lab." Well, that was interesting.

"I don't remember anyone named Shepherd working here." I said, racking my brain for anyone.

"Oh, Shepherd is my married name." Peyton replied. "My wife is a doctor so it was easier for me to change my name. My maiden name is Gribbs."

Wait.

Hold the phone.

What?!

Then the weirdest thing happened…she laughed. Actually laughed! What the actual fuck was happening?!

"Would you relax?" She said, her hand coming to swat at my arm. "I know you were brought in to replace her. You were brought in literally a few days after she died, I'm not an idiot."

"And you're okay…to…you know?" I stumbled out. Of all the people that I had to have trained, it had to be _her_?

"I did my research on the lab before we moved." She answered. "If I had a problem we would have gone somewhere else."

"Wow." I was dumbfounded.

"Working there somehow makes me feel closer to her…as crazy as that sounds." She told me, her eyes glazing over slightly, as if remembering something.

"If you aren't comfortable…" She trailed off, giving me a chance to speak.

"No!" I said. "I'm just a little shocked."

"I knew that if people knew, they would see me differently." She said. "'Daughter of that dead girl'" I waved her off nonchalantly.

"No, not that." I said. "You have a wife?" She laughed at that, her body beginning to relax again.

After that things seemed to be moving a good direction. I found out that she was funny, like really funny. And smart, she was allowed to skip a grade in high school and graduate early.

We kept talking until it was finally 8 o'clock. Time to get back to work.

The woman who ran the afterschool program, Sherry, was a short, plump, black lady. She was one of those women who was destined to have multiple kids and grandkids, she was that nice. You could see in her eyes that she truly cared for each and every kid she saw, including Tina Mitchel.

"She was such a sweetheart." She said in a watery voice.

"Was there anyone here she had a problem with?" I asked. The woman's eyes darted to me and, for a second, I thought she was going to yell at me.

"No, everyone loved her." She told me instead.

"Did anyone here ever seem particularly close to her?" Peyton asked. I felt a small surge of pride at her question. She was learning quickly.

"Well, there was this one volunteer." Sherry said. "He was always talking to her, helping her with her homework." She finished hesitantly.

"Do you have a way we can contact him?" I asked her.

"He isn't in any trouble is he?" She asked us. "He wouldn't hurt a fly!" I saw Peyton hold up her hand as if steadying a scared animal.

"We just need to talk to him." She assured Sherry. "Tina might have confided in him." Sherry calmed after that.

When we left Peyton held a post-it with James Maddox's address in her hand while I dialed brass. Arriving at Maddox's house we saw Acker and his partner already on-scene.

"He not home?" I asked as we got out. Ackers sent me a look that only meant one thing.

"He is, but I doubt you'll get any answers out of him." He said. "We saw the body though the windows and stayed out here. That's your department." I smiled my thanks to him while we went to the back of the Tahoe to glove up and retrieve our kits.

The body seemed to be only the beginning of our problems however. Once we were inside our olfactory senses were assaulted with the smell of gas. It was overpowering, and we were still in the doorway. The clicking noise told us that the victim, or someone, left the gas stove on.

"Suicide?" Peyton asked. Part of my brain started thinking that if he felt some strange love for Tina and then killed her, that could lead to suicide. But the better part of me could hear Grissom telling me to never jump ahead of the evidence.

I could make a drinking game based on all the times he said that.

"I don't know yet." I said as we made our way to where we assumed the kitchen, and the source of the gas, was. "Never jump ahead of the evidence."

Great, now I'm turning in to him. Next thing you know I'll be more emotionally inept than I already am.

In the kitchen we saw that we were right. The burner on his stove was on, but not lit, thus letting gas seep into the house. There on the floor was the victim, GSW to the forehead. If the stove was on, then probably not a suicide. I was about to voice my opinion when a growling noise was heard to our right.

There was a dog. No, not a dog, a fucking horse! He stepped closer to us. I saw Peyton move slowly in front of me, shielding me with her body, as my hand moved to my weapon.

"You fire a shot, and this whole place may blow." She told me, her voice eerily steady. "Look at his mouth." I did. Shit! There was a white, foamy substance around his bared teeth. Rabies.

"Back away very slowly." Peyton said. Her arms stayed held out in a protective manner in front of me as we began to move at a snail's pace. Everything was going well, the dog was following but not attacking, until I felt the wood floor beneath my left foot give out. My entire body fell to the floor.

As if in slow motion I saw the dog lunge towards me, but then an arm shot out and the dog bit down. I watched as the rookie CSI shoved her left arm in the dogs mouth, but somehow her face showed no sign of pain when she looked at me. I saw her reach in to her pocket as the dog bit harder.

"Sara." She said, her voice still calm. How was this possible? "Close your eyes." She said. Without knowing really why I was, I did as she asked. I heard a flicking noise followed closely by the sound of the dog yelping loudly. The next thing I knew, she was grabbing my arms and pulling me off the floor and out the door, sitting my on the porch steps.

"Ackers, right?" I heard her ask. "I need you to call an ambulance and animal control. Also, the stove is on inside, can you go shut it off?" Then I heard Ackers call for the ambulance while a person, probably his partner, shot past me inside the house. Then I felt someone sit next to me.

"You can open your eyes now." Peyton said. When I did I saw her clutching some gauze from the back of the Tahoe to her injury. "I'm sorry." I had to laugh at that.

"Why in the hell are you apologizing?" I asked.

"You said you're a vegetarian." She answered. "If you don't eat meat, then I figured you probably wouldn't want to watch me kill a dog."

Well, I wasn't expecting that.

We sat in silence until the ambulance finally arrived. When it did I followed her inside, practically daring the paramedics to argue.

We had been sitting behind a curtain for a few minutes when it was pulled aside and a familiar face met me. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" The blonde asked.

"It wasn't me this time, Nancy." I told her. Nancy Flynn looked so much like her sister, it was unnerving. "Nancy, this is Peyton. This is her first shift." I told her. Blue eyes widened comically at the news.

"First shift and already in the ER?" She asked. "Nice, new record. It took Catherine at least four." Nancy reached for a needle of what I can only assume was a numbing agent, only to be stopped by the younger woman.

"No need." Peyton said. Our eyes shot to her. Was she serious right now? "Congenital analgesia. I won't feel it anyway so there is really no need." She elaborated. Well, that explained a lot. No wonder she jumped in front of the dog. Either way one of us was going to be here getting stitches and a shot of proflaxis. At least she wouldn't feel it. It was a strange concept to think of; someone I barely know protecting me in such a way.

My musings were cut short with the shrill ringing of my phone. I excused myself and answered.

"Sara!" David Hodges yelled.

"Ah, what, Hodges?" I asked, having to pull the phone away slightly.

"Are you with the new girl?" He asked.

"Yes, you'll meet her later. We're a little busy." I told him.

"We have a problem." He said. "The prints you pick up all came back to the victim, her parents, and one other person."

"Who?"

"That's the problem, the new girl, Peyton Shepherd." I heard him say.

"Maybe she touched something on accident, Hodges." I said. "It happens, and it is her first shift."

"That's what I thought at first, but Sara, the DNA from the bed was a match to her too." He said. My heart stopped as I looked to the girl in question, watching as she laughed at something Nancy said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He said.

"David." I warned.

"Sara, I checked four times. It's her's."

Shit!

 **e you all enjoyed. Feedback is always loved!**


	3. Reinforcements

**I'm so sorry for the long wait. I am hoping to be able to start posting other chapters soon. Thanks for sticking with me! I hope you enjoy.**

"How much longer till we get the shot?" I asked after ending the call, my head still spinning.

"A few more hours." Nancy told us. Sara looked to the rookie still sitting in the bed.

"Is there someone that can come get you after the shot?" Peyton narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously.

"Actually, if you want, you can go ahead and take her back to the lab. I can take it out there when it gets here." Nancy offered.

"Oh, Nance, I can't make you do that." Sara said.

"Hey, I'm offering." The nurse replied. "You guys have work to do and she's not exactly dying yet." She laughed.

"If you're sure…" Peyton said, her eyes still on a paling Sara.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling into the lab.

"You've been very quiet since we left the hospital." Peyton said, breaking the tense silence. "What's going on?"

"Not here." Sara said, opening her door and exiting the vehicle. Peyton followed her straight into D.B.'s office.

"Have you told her?" He asked as soon as he set eyes on them.

"Told her what? What is going on?" The younger woman asked, her patience waning. Sara closed the door behind them and turned to the younger CSI.

"Some of the prints from the scene came back to you." She told her. "I never thought I'd say this, but please tell me you forgot to put on gloves."

"That can't be right." Peyton said, turning her attention to their boss. "This has to be a mistake." D.B. frowned at her.

"It isn't. Believe me, I wish it were." He said. "David ran it four times and I ran it three myself. It's your prints."

"But…I…I've never-"

"No one is saying you did anything wrong." D.B. said with a warm smile. "However, I do think its best you take tonight off. Come back tomorrow and start fresh." Peyton looked ready to push to stay, but a shake of the head from Sara convinced her otherwise.

With that the younger woman left the office.

"What's up, D.B.?" Sara asked. "You're hiding something."

"I had all the evidence checked, Sar." He sighed out. "There was lubricant mixed with female….uh" he shot a look to the spot Peyton had just vacated "DNA on both the victim's fingers and bedsheets."

"Hers?" Sara asked. Her answer was a nod.

"If this were anyone else we would be calling Brass for a warrant." He said. "But, seeing as she is one of ours and she looks to be as baffled by this as we are, instead I called in reinforcements."

At that Sara's head shot up. "What?" She asked. "We can handle this."

"We need someone who isn't connected to this. Objectivity will go a long way to help us."

"D.B., we're objective. She's only been here a few hours."

"That didn't stop you, or me for that matter, from coming to her defense." He said. "Sara, it's done. A friend of mine is coming in to take lead on this." Sara scoffed in return.

"Great, that's just great." D.B. smiled at her.

"Oh, don't worry." He assured her. "I think you two will get along swimmingly."

There was a knock on the door behind her before it was opened.

"Hey, is this a bad time?" A familiar voice asked from behind her. Sara turned immediately. There she was, right in front of her. The woman she had been missing for so long…

Catherine Willows.


	4. Meeting the Family

**I really hope that you enjoy!**

D.B. smiled at the surprise on my face as Catherine entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"That was mean." I said to him, glaring.

"Eh, couldn't stop myself." He said as he rounded the desk to hug the blonde woman. "It's good to see you, Cath."

"I wish it were under different circumstances." She replied as she squeezed him one last time before turning her attention to me. For a second the world fell away from me. All those feelings I had pushed away came rushing back all at once. She smiled softly at me and I heard my breath catch. Her arms were around me and I felt home.

"I missed you, Sara." She whispered in my ear and I was gone. But, like all things, it had to come to an end. She was pulling away from me, her face showing that it was time to get down to business.

"What've we got?" She asked, the familiarity transporting me through all of the years I stood next to her and listened to her ask the same question.

We all took a seat as D.B. and I ran through the case for her. Her face reflected the horror we all felt by the end. "This is SNAFU if there ever was one." She murmured.

"I feel like she didn't do this." I said, D.B. nodding behind his desk. Catherine looked at us dubiously.

"She's been on your team for only a few hours and you're already closing ranks and risking jobs?" She laughed out humorlessly.

"We haven't risked anything!" I shot back defensively. The blonde's eyes narrowed at me.

"Have you gone to Brass about this?" She asked. "Have you gotten a warrant for her house? Or to bring her in for questioning?"

"No, but-"

"No buts, Sar." She sighed out. "If we don't treat this like any other case the reputation of this Lab is compromised. And your jobs may be put on the line if this goes sideways."

"You would have done the same thing for Nick." I fired back at her.

"I _have_ done this for Nick." She retorted. "And I'll tell you the same this Grissom told me. Work the evidence." She reached out and took my hand, now shaking with frustration. "I'm not disagreeing with you, Sara. I'm here to help you _prove_ she didn't do this."

"Well," D.B. spoke up "I have the utmost faith in you two. Go find some answers."

We exited the office and headed first for the locker room. I opened mine and allowed her to stash her leather jacket and purse inside. As she was pulling her hair into a ponytail I thought now would be the best time to drop the bomb on her.

"Cath?" I said, gaining her attention.

"Hmm?"

"Peyton Shepherd?" I said. "Her maiden name is Gribbs." I watched as her hands stilled their movements. I watched her body stiffen before her legs seemed to give out and her body plopped onto the bench next to me.

I knew Catherine still felt guilt over Holly Gribbs. It had been evident when we met, it was evident now in her slumped shoulders, her crestfallen face.

"Russel didn't tell me that." She whispered. Her elbows came to rest on her knees as her head lowered into her hands. I reached forward and rubbed comforting circles so long that my hand was beginning to tingle. I felt…honored really, for her to feel comfortable enough to be like this with me.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"How am I supposed to face her?" Cath asked.

"She probably doesn't know-"

"That I talked her mother out of quitting the job that took her life a few hours later?" Catherine interrupted, her eyes watering. My arms pulled her to me of their own volition, hugging her tight. I ran the fingers of my left hand through her silky hair, as I whispered reassurances into her ear.

All too soon she retracted herself from me, her hands moving over her face vigorously, as if trying to wipe the last remnants of emotion off.

"The least I can do is help her now." She said, finality lacing her voice, as she turned and fled the room, me following close behind her.

I shot a nervous glance to the blonde next to me as I knocked on the front door. It was a nice house in a beautiful neighborhood. The yard was pristine aside from a few lawn toys for a child.

The tan door swung open and a child around eleven opened the door. For a second I forgot to breathe. The same blonde hair, same blue eyes…she was an almost exact copy of our victim. Peyton's behavior at the scene now made sense to me.

A hand shot out at the girl from behind and pulled her aside. I looked up and saw Peyton looking at the girl pointedly. They seemed to have an entire conversation without words before the girl sighed and left the doorway.

"I thought I hadn't done anything wrong." Peyton said, her eyes shooting to me. It was clear she knew something was up, not that it was hard to figure out.

"Peyton, this is Catherine Willows, a former colleague." I said as Catherine tentatively extended her hand. I saw the younger woman's eye twitch at the name. When Peyton didn't move Catherine retracted her hand, shoving it into her pants pocket.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here?" She asked us.

"Do you mind if we talk inside?" Catherine asked her. Peyton narrowed her eyes at us. She looked ready to decline, but a hand snaked into her own and tugged gently. A smile forced its way onto the young brunette's face as she let us in.

Once in the foyer we were introduced to Aimee Shepherd, Peyton's wife. She was much older that Peyton, by maybe ten years or more. She was also wheelchair bound.

The two of them led us to the dining table where we all sat.

"Peyton, the case is a bit more complicate than we initially thought." I began.

"How so?" Aimee asked.

"Peyton's DNA was found on the victim and on her bedsheets." Catherine told them. I watched as Aimee took Peyton's hand again and squeezed. I looked to Catherine and saw her watching them carefully as well.

"Do I need to get a lawyer?" She asked us.

"I'm…not sure yet." I answered truthfully. "We're going to work our hardest to figure this out."

"I was here last night." She told us.

"Were Aimee or you daughter here with you to confirm that?" I winced at Catherin's overly professional tone.

"Both." Aimee told her. "We were all here together."

"Do you mind if I talk to your daughter alone for a few minutes?" Catherine asked.

"No." Peyton answered immediately.

"We can't help you if you don't let us." Catherine urged. Peyton shot her a glare.

"My daughter is deaf, Ms. Willows. Do you know ASL?" She asked. I raised my hand slightly.

"I do." I said. Peyton stared at me intently. Studying me. I don't know how long it took exactly, but she finally let me go.

Catherine watched Sara's form as she left the room. Her nerves flaring once again as she came face to face with the cold stare of Peyton Shepherd with no buffer.

"We're going to do everything we can to help you, Peyton." I said. "You have to believe that."

"Help me?" She asked. "Like you helped my mom?"

 **Feedback is always loved.**


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